A lot of Americans -- including many state legislators --think it would be a good idea to post the Ten Commandments on the walls of our schoolrooms and courthouses, in order to encourage moral behavior. A lot of other Americans -- including the ACLU --think this would be a very bad idea, since it would violate the constitutional separation of church and state. The ACLU has vowed to sue any school district that displays the commandments in accordance with any state law.
I have a better idea. Instead of posting the Ten Commandments, let's post the Ten Amendments to the Constitution: the Bill of Rights. And not just where students and those accused of breaking the law can learn about them. Let's paste them up everywhere, for everyone to see and read and remember. In fact, here's a copy you can cut out and display on the nearest bulletin board or refrigerator door (see box).
If we're to believe the latest polls, an overwhelming majority of Americans, in the aftermath of Sept. 11, are willing to sacrifice some of their fundamental rights in the name of homeland security. Yet other polls over the past decade have found that only a third of us even know what the Bill of Rights is. If you had an old heirloom chest in your attic, wouldn't it be wise at least to look inside to see what valuables it might contain before you let it be hauled off to the dump?
If we gave the substance of our freedoms a fraction as much attention and reverence as we give to their symbols, maybe more of us would realize what an irretrievable sacrifice we're about to make. Unlike Old Glory, the Bill of Rights doesn't come with eye-catching, soul-stirring stars and stripes that you can stick on your car, pin to a lapel or insinuate into a corporate logo to make yourself and your message appear instantly patriotic. No, you have to take the trouble to actually read through this thing, think about what it says, and maybe even expose yourself to risk and ridicule by acting on it.
Those who believe we all need an authority to tell us what to think and how to behave may be uncomfortable with the fact that the Ten Amendments are essentially opposite in conception to the Ten Commandments. Whereas Moses' stone tablets are a code of restrictions on individuals' behavior handed down from on high, these earliest amendments to the Constitution represent the people's restrictions on their leaders' behavior. They are protections against the abuse of power by centralized government that the elected representatives of the original 13 states demanded be added to the Constitution before they would ratify it.
According to the Enlightenment-influenced revolutionaries who wrote them down, these rights are yours simply by virtue of being human. They aren't some "privilege" -- like a drivers' license or curbside trash collection -- that governments can grant and revoke at will. Even the Constitution doesn't "give" you these rights -- it merely states them, as a warning to would-be tyrants. In fact -- FBI detentions and military tribunals notwithstanding -- it's questionable whether the government can legitimately deny these rights even to noncitizens. The Declaration of Independence openly asserts that the kinds of freedoms embodied in the Ten Amendments are the natural birthright of every human being, regardless of which side of the border they were born on. ("We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness ...")
-- Steve Rasmussen
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.
In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
"Note: The [above] text is a transcription of the first 10 amendments to the Constitution in their original form. These amendments were ratified December 15, 1791, and form what is known as the 'Bill of Rights.'" Source: National Archives and Records Administration, http://www.nara.gov/exhall/charters/billrights/billrights.html